KEY FINDINGS

Developing Close Working Relationships With Users

• Four related factors affect the development of close working relationships with competitive intelligence users:
• 1. characteristics of competitive intelligence users,
• 2. characteristics of the competitive intelligence function,
• 3. characteristics of competitive intelligence professionals, and
• 4. characteristics of the company itself.
• The user-driven competitive intelligence model specifies how close working relationships between competitive intelligence users and producers lead to trust, social capital, and cooperative implementation.
• An engagement model of competitive intelligence focuses on the management of handoffs across the intelligence cycle.

• There is moderate use of competitive intelligence during implementation initiatives.
• The role of competitive intelligence during strategic implementation can be best characterized as "winning the negotiations," whereas the role of competitive intelligence during tactical implementation can be best characterized as "winning in the field."
• During implementation initiatives, competitive intelligence users request intelligence primarily on competitor's products, marketing, cost structure, and technology.
• Competitive intelligence is used to assist in four categories of implementation initiatives: competitive environment, competitive intelligence users, implementation actions, and future options.
• Partner organizations use processes such as the "socialization of an idea" to facilitate implementation initiatives.

• The development of close working relationships with intelligence users lessens the need for formal/quantitative assessments.
• The development of a competitive intelligence "brand" ensures that intelligence users will pay attention to competitive intelligence deliverables.
• The value added from tactical intelligence has the potential to be quantified to a greater extent than strategic intelligence.